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The air was sucked from Dennis’ lungs the moment he hit the freezing water. He’d barely identified the sounds of laughter and screaming over the storm before he felt himself being lifted up, out of the water, and dropped unceremoniously back into his seat.

He laughed out loud. “Bit of a wind, that was,” he said easily to his fellow travelers.

He’d waited too long for this day to allow an unexpected introduction to the lake to dampen his enthusiasm for all things magical. If anything, he was more excited… not yet to Hogwarts, and his adventures had already begun.

_____________

Hermione rolled over and snuggled into the covers of her bed in Gryffindor tower. She couldn’t quiet her thoughts enough to sleep. Hogwarts was like something out of a fairy tale, only real. Everything was new and different and exciting, and she wouldn’t leave here for anything in the world. And yet, somewhere deep inside her chest, she missed home and her parents just a little bit, too.

She was so ready for classes to start: she’d be learning, breathing in the scent of old books and history. The only thing she needed beyond that was a friend or two.

Euan Abercrombie stepped off the stool. He was a Gryffindor. He knew he should be excited, but instead he was uneasy. Apparently Harry Potter was in that house. A boy told him about Harry Potter; how he was an idiot trying to scare everyone by sprouting nonsense like the most evil wizard of all time had somehow returned. . . To think his parents owned a Muggle clothing company.

In that second, Euan Abercrombie assumed Harry Potter was no good, and resolved to stay away from him. All because of what one eleven-year-old boy told him, and his own assumptions.

*~-__-~*

Bitterness. . .

“Please let me be in Gryffindor! I don’t care if Mother disapproves; I just want to be in the house of the brave and bold. Who cares if my entire family were Slytherins? I’m different, aren’t I?”

“But Ms. Parkinson, you are meant for Slytherin. Would you rather live disowned and poor in Gryffindor or rich in Slytherin?” Pansy immediately knew her answer. “See? You put yourself first, not that that’s a bad thing. So, my decision is final.”

From that moment on, Pansy immediately hated Gryffindor; it had been the one thing she had ever been denied in life.

*~-__-~*

And Egotism . . .

Blaise Zabini approached the hat. He snorted; how could a patched, raggedy old hat be able to read his brilliant mind?

“Ah. I see you have a high opinion of yourself, Mr. Zabini. Quite sly and cunning as well, I see. You seem know your house, and I agree, but your ego will get in the way someday. Your mother’s did. . . but I know that is a touchy subject with you, yes? She had quite some pride. . . but on with the sorting!

SLYTHERIN!”

It took Blaise Zabini many years to realize the hat had been right.

Last edited by iMusic17; 09-10-2011 at 05:54 PM.

my pageBeautiful avvie by Nadia (magestic_ginny), and banner by TM_Wandstick.

No matter what anyone tells you, words and ideas can change the world.
(The Dead Poets Society)

She was used to it. She knew that she would always be the know-it-all. Already, she had made two enemies. Well, at least the clumsy boy didn't seem to mind her. She was confident of what house she would be in--Ravenclaw, of course. But where she went didn't really make any difference because she wouldn't have any friends anyway. What she was really looking forward to was the ceiling of the Great Hall. “It's bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in Hogwarts: A History.”

A few minutes later: “Granger, Hermione.”

“GRYFFINDOR!”

______

“Hi, I'm Oliver Wood. What's your name?”

“I'm Percy Weasley,” the red-head answered dryly.

Oliver paused for a moment and looked out over the water to see if Hogwarts was in sight yet. Then he turned back to the other boy. “I'm so looking forward to Quidditch even if I will have to wait a year. I play Quidditch with my dad and brothers all of the time. They say that I might be able to get a spot on the Pride of Portree team as a Keeper when I'm old enough. But I'll have to keep practicing hard.”

______

“Crabbe, Goyle, over here.” The two heavyset boys came towards him at top speed. They were strong and certainly devoted, but they were not very useful. They couldn't help him plan or understand why certain things had to be done a certain way. With such a large school, he would need a teammate, a sidekick, one who could take care of things with him, not for him. That was where Harry Potter came in. The fact that he was already famous was a bonus.

“Stand on either side of me. Look intimidating.” He slid open the compartment door.

Name: Free_Elf/BecHouse: HufflepuffTitle: Making WavesWord Counts (x3): 100 for each, not counting the titlesCharacters Chosen (x3) Dennis Creevey, Natalie McDonald, Colin CreeveyRatings/Warnings: 1st-2nd years, noneSomething about September: It's all about beginnings, really. The boat trip, sorting, discovering new things. For me, it's the start of warmer weather A/N: These sort of grew out of each other, and here I am with my first contest submission to go with all the other 'firsts'!

Splash

It happened so fast. That huge man bellowed something about the castle and everyone leaned to see. But then the loudest roll of thunder ever deafened us all, and that stupid blonde girl shrieked and jumped. I was still leaning to look when she tipped the whole boat. Then I was even wetter.

All I could think was how now I would never explore secret passages or meet the ghosts or even get a detention from Snape.

Colin had told me so many wicked stories. But nothing about anyone drowning before even getting there. Hey, that’s cool, I’m the first!

__________

Ripples

“GRYFFINDOR!”

As newly sorted Natalie McDonald hurried over to her house table, she kept up a stream of worried mutters, too low for anyone else to hear.

“Brave? I’m not brave, I jump at thunder! Oh, no, that mad boy’s in that house! I made him fall in the lake, he’ll hate me! Although, he did rather enjoy getting pushed back out…”

A twist of anxiety crossed her features when the only free seat she could find was next to the boy in question. But, unconsciously proving her Gryffindor courage, she took a deep breath, sat down and spoke.

The first thing I had pulled out of my trunk was my camera. My roommates argued over whether it would work, being a Muggle camera, until we all trooped down to ask one of the prefects. Later, he helped me develop my pictures of Gryffindor Tower properly, so that they’d move.

I’d sent those pictures to Dennis; my letter overbrimming with wonder at this magic I’d found.

That excitement is back. Now I can properly share the magic that is a first day at Hogwarts.

“I won’t,” Neville promised as he leaned out the window of the train. He said goodbye to his grandmother and turned around, making his way to the compartment where his trunk had been stashed. A girl with bushy brown hair was already sitting there, her nose in a book. Neville opened the compartment door shyly.

“Hello,” he said. The girl looked up.

“Hello, I’m Hermione,” she said. “I was just reading about Hogwarts’ history. It’s fascinating.”

“Oh,” Neville replied awkwardly. He sat down and put a hand in his pocket to check on Trevor.

“Oh no!”

---

“So, what House do you think you’ll be in, then?” Luna gazed at the boy across from her for a long moment before answering. He shifted uncomfortably under her stare.

“Right,” the boy said awkwardly, suddenly seeming very interested in the door of the compartment.

“Wrackspurt got you?” she asked him sympathetically.

“Er, what?” he said, looking confused.

“Never mind,” she said, pulling out the latest copy of The Quibbler. The boy kept glancing furtively at the door.

“You can leave, if you’d like,” Luna pointed out airily.

---

“GRYFFINDOR!”

Ginny grinned, placed the hat back on the stool and walked over to the table where all of her brothers sat. She glanced furtively down the table to see if she could spot Harry anywhere, but he still hadn’t shown up. She really hoped he and Ron were safe, but she couldn’t help but feel disappointed at the same time. The sorting was the one time when everyone in the school had to focus on her, but somehow the person she really wanted to attract the attention of had missed it. She wondered if Harry would ever like her.

Both barmaids deliberated over this for a long time. I think this was a hard challenge set by Madam Russia because it's difficult to keep up the excellence when writing three drabbles. Everyone had a drabble that we thought 'OOOH, very good', but in the end we had to go for the person who wrote the most consistenly good drabbles.

As we didn't have that many entrants we're only awarding first and second place.

So

First Place -TM Wandstick - Gryffindor - 15 points.
The barmaids particularly liked the Luna drabble. She's a hard character to write without veering into cliche, but Toni did a fantastic job.

Second Place - Weasley Mom - Hufflepuff - 10 points
The Hermione drabble was a particular strength here. All that longing from Hermione, and we know she doesn't get friends until Halloween. Poor thing.